Everything for the girl
by Tc33 - Amie
Summary: Domestic and familial fic. The Doctor and River have a little girl and it's her birthday. In-progress.
1. A walk in the night

_**Author's note: I would like to thank Kristi, who gave me the idea of that fic -and for correcting me.**_

_**Disclaimer : I don't own Doctor who nor any of its characters.**_

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><p><em><strong>Everything for the girl<strong>_

_**1. A walk in the night**_

It was the middle of the night when River waked up and found herself alone in their four-poster bed.

"_Doctor?"_ she called out, leaning on her elbows to try to look around in the room. But it remained silent and dark, and he had obviously not been there for a long time –the sheets had been removed on his side and his place was already cold. She sighed, and put on her dressing grown before getting out of the bed. She would go look for him and try to bring him back to bed. She couldn't sleep when he was not next to her.

She never knew what's in his mind when he was out in the middle of the night, and she never knew in which state he would be when she found him. Sometimes, he was in the wardrobe, admiring his new bow-ties like a child of two discovering his Christmas gifts –and sometimes she found him in the library, tears in his eyes, thinking about all the things he had seen in his long life. Usually, she just took him by the hand and he followed her, laid in bed by her side, buried his face in her skin, and she made him forget all his sad memories.

She walked out of the room, wondering what his mood was tonight. The Tardis lit up the corridor for her and she smiled, silently thanking the old girl who always showed her the way. But before looking for her husband, she stopped at the door next to hers, and opened it slowly.

It was another bedroom which looked like theirs, but the bed was tinier and the floor full of toys. The ceiling was decorated with many lights, recreating a starry sky, so the owner of the room would not be afraid of darkness. Currently, the little girl was sleeping peacefully, her arms wrapped around one her dolls. The sheet had slid down her body and River reached for it to put it back on her daughter's shoulders. She stared at the child for a while, a child that she had never hoped for and one day just was, like a miracle –a part of her, a part of him, and she still was the best part of them.

Rived brushed one of the curls her daughter had inherited from her, and placed a kiss on her forehead. The little girl smiled, still lost in her dream, and she wondered what she was dreaming about. The child would be six tomorrow, she was still young and innocent, but she was a Time Lady and one day the nights would be the time of nightmares and regrets. They did whatever they can to protect her but they lived a complicated life and they knew that she would have to live a complicated life too.

"_Sleep well my love._" River whispered to her, before she tiptoed out of the room. She glanced over her shoulder back at her daughter and closed the door, trying not to make any noise. Then she turned around and faced the corridors.

"_Well now, my impossible Time Lord..._" she asked herself "_where are you?_"

x.


	2. The cook

_**2. The Cook**_

River finally found her husband in the kitchen –or, she found him in the room that should be the kitchen but was in such a mess that she hardly recognized it. There were bowls and spoons and pans everywhere, dishes covered with all sorts of food like substances. Most of them had apparently been used, and there was something that looked like flour covering every inch of the room. The Doctor was in the middle of that all , an apron covered with multicoloured stains tied around his waist, and a chef's hat on his head.

"_Doctor, what are you..."_

"_Oh, River! Come on, taste that for me."_

And before she could protest he was sticking a spoon covered with something that looked like chocolate inside her mouth. She was about to protest, but instead her eyes widened.

"_Sweetie, that's... that's one of the best thing I've ever eaten!"_

He looked at her with a victorious smile on his face, and turned back to his pan while she was licking her lips, searching for the last drops of the sauce.

"_What have you put in that exactly?"_

"_Chocolate and sugar –and a secret ingredient I would not tell you."_

River walked towards him and stuck her finger in the sauce. The Doctor tried to stop her, but she was quicker and the chocolate was in her mouth before he could actually hit her with his spoon. He winced disapprovingly at her.

"_You can't steal my chocolate. It's not for you."_

"_So, what is that for?"_ she asked, pointing at the kitchen.

"_Moira's birthday is tomorrow*."_ he answered _"And I want the best for her."_

He scratched his cheek and looked at everything he had already done, the amount of dishes on the table, and he hoped that the argument in benefit of his little child would be enough for River to forgive him the mess.

"_All of this is for her?"_

He nodded, and she laughed.

"_How many cakes have you made? She's just a child, not a starving monster!"_

"_Well, I... I don't know."_

"_How many hours have you been here?"_

"_I..." _and he stopped, his cheeks turning red, and he could not stand her disapproving look anymore, focusing back on his cooking.

"_Okay, I see..." _she paused, and stared at him putting the pan out of the fire and mixing the chocolate with a paste that looked as delicious as the hot sauce._ "Then, what do you think of finishing this one and going back to bed, uhm?"_ she asked purposely, placing her arms on his waist, her head leaning on his shoulder.

He frowned, focused on the mixture he was working on, weighing up the pros and cons of her proposition.

"_Doctor?" _she asked, reminding him that she was waiting for an answer.

"_Oh, yes, okay, that's the last one." _he finally gave up. Do what River said was always the better option –he did not want to fight with her, he had tried once and he had not good memories of it.

"_Great."_

She stayed next to him, watching him mixing this and that, adding some ingredients, and she was amazed amazed by the fact that he didn't follow any recipe. Apparently he was a good cook and everything was created in his head. She had never seen him cooking before, and she had always thought that the only thing he could make was fish fingers and custard (but that was not _really_ cooking, was it?). She was eager to taste all of the things he had made tonight, because if they all were as delicious as the chocolate she had tasted, it would be the best meal she would ever have.

After a while, he suddenly stopped and looked at her; he wanted to tell her something but was not sure if he could.

"_River, err... I would like it to be a surprise... Could you..."_

"_Leave?"_she finished for him, and he was relieved that she did not seem angry with him_. "If you __like.__ I'm tired anyway."_

She smiled and kissed him. He tasted sweet, a mix of chocolate and candies, and she broke the kiss . regretfully.

"_Don't be too long"_ she begged him. He nodded and she went out, reached her bed and slipped herself under the sheet. She closed her eyes and waited.

She could not tell how much time passed before the door opened and her time lord stepped in. She heard him taking off his shoes and clothes and then he lied down next to her, put an arm around her and gently brushed her hair. She tangled her fingers with his and then, after he kissed her cheek, she finally was able to sleep.

x.

**tbc**

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><p><em>*After spending hours trying to find a name for their daughter I've finally chosen this one. Moira is the name that I would like to give to my daughter (if I ever had a girl). It has a double origin and meaning. In Ancient Greek, the Moirai were goddesses of fate. It's also a variant form of Mary, meaning star of the sea or sea of bitterness.<em>

_Thank you for reading.  
><em>


	3. Wake up

_**Author's note : I really want to thank everybody that read and reviewed and added this fic to their favorite and alert. I have to say that I was not expecting this !  
>Hope you'll like that chapter as much as I liked writing it <strong>_

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><p><em><strong>3. Wake up!<strong>_

They felt like they had been asleep for only a few minutes when a scream suddenly woke them up, and something feeling like a cannonball fell on them.

"_Guess what __day__ is it today?"_ asked the curly cannonball, sitting proudly between them, a smile upon her face.

"_Happy birthday sweetheart!"_ answered River, and she placed a kiss on her daughter's cheek while the girl hugged her strongly. _"But you can't jump on our bed like that anymore." _She added_ "You're too old for that now."_

Moira pulled away from her mother and looked at her reproachfully.

"_It's my birthday. You can't tell me that today." _And River had to prevent her from smiling, because it was more charming that really insolent.

"_She's your mother, she can tell you whatever she wants, whenever she wants."_ answered a voice behind, and the girl turned around, pouting at her dad.

"_You're always on her side." _

"_I'm not darling, I'm not."_ and he gently pulled the little girl into his lap, before whispering into her ears, so he could pretend that River did not hear _"I'll let you jump on the bed when Mum is not here."_

A smile appeared on Moira's face and she burst out laughing, like it was the best gift her father could give her today. He laughed too and tickled her, and that only made the little girl laugh louder. For a while they were both giggling, and River had to take care that a foot or an arm would not hit her. She just looked at them, smiling.

The Doctor had been a great dad from the beginning –even before Moira was born. When she had learnt that she was pregnant, River's first reaction had been fear. What would that child become? How would they be able to raise her? But he had only felt joy, and had made everything to reassure his wife. From the day he knew, he had taken care of her and the child. He had spent nights, stroking her belly, speaking to the life to come, telling her how brilliant she would be, how much he loved her, telling her stories and secrets of the universe, promising her he would show her everything. When Moira was finally born, he had kept doing the same things, rocking the baby for hours, showing her the stars and, sometimes, he even fell asleep in his child's bedroom, the girl buried in his arms in a protective way. And when she had gotten older they still played together, sharing adventures of their own, and there were days when it was hard to tell who was the child and who was the adult. Today was one of those days.

After some attempts to interrupt them, River finally gave up, and got out of the bed. She was half-way to the door when suddenly the laughter stopped and Moira was calling out for her.

"_Mummy!"_

The little girl ran to her and strongly wrapped her arms around her mother's legs.

"_Mummy, where are you going?"_

"_Into the kitchen sweetie, t__o get some breakfast ."_She answered, her fingers stroking her daughter's hair.

"_Can I come with you?"_

_"Yes, of course you can."_

Moira released her mother's legs, smiling.

"_Would you make me pancakes? I want pancakes for my breakfast."_

"_All right, let's go, pancakes!"_

"_Daddy __will__ you come? Mum is making pancakes!" _she asked, turning around.

But the Doctor had laid back and was asleep.

"Let him sleep sweetheart." whispered River.

Moira nodded, putting a finger on her lips to show they had to be silent, and the two girls left the room together, hand in hand.

x.


End file.
